The present invention relates to an improvement in a device for receiving the penis of a totally impotent male and positioning it in a simulation of an erection for facilitating sexual intercourse. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved thin-walled seal in the device that encircles and contacts the penis for maintaining a negative pressure within the device.
In the prior art, various solutions have been attempted to aid impotent males in producing or simulating an erection. One such solution is directed to the teaching that pressure applied in various ways at the base of the penis will obstruct venous return from that organ and thereby facilitate or enhance penile erection. Other prior art methods teach the use of splint-type devices, with open sides and longitudinally running stiff members usually covered with a rubber sleeve to facilitate erection of the male organ and the ability of the user to penetrate during sexual intercourse.
Still another method used in the prior art teaches use of at least a single longitudinal member with circumferential loops positioned to receive and hold the penis in an erect state. Yet another prior art device is that which utilizes a hollow cylindrical body having an enclosed extremity and a duct permitting communication between the inside of the hollow body, at a position adjacent to the closed end, and the outside. Additionally, the open end is provided with a circular rigid constrictor which imparts pressure to restrict venus return similar to that above-described for other prior art devices. In this device, as the penis is inserted into the interior of the hollow body, air is forced out of the interior through the duct, forcing a one-way valve positioned therein to open. Further, this described device assumes that the user must be able to achieve enough penis rigidity to drive the penis through the constriction ring at the open end to produce any effective pressure change inside the hollow body and thereby actuate the valve to permit the penis to advance further. An impotent male with a flaccid penis cannot achieve insertion into the disclosed device, since insertion is achieved against the higher pressure of the air compressed in the interior of the device. Also, since the constriction at the open end is to be tight enough to produce restriction in blood flow, a totally impotent male can never achieve enough of an erection to introduce the penis through the open end.
The inventor has received a prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,554 entitled "Prosthesis of Male Impotence" which discloses a device for receiving and positioning in a simulation of an erection the penis of an impotent male, which device comprises a sleeve-like body enclosed at one end and having the other end open for receiving the extremity of the penis. After the penis is inserted, means is provided for introducing a negative pressure in the interior of the body which has the effect of drawing the penis into the interior of the sleeve to achieve an erection-like condition. The open-end of the sleeve-like body terminates in a thin-walled section, of the same inner diameter as the remainder of the sleeve-like body, to snugly fit the erect penis and act as a seal for preserving the interior negative pressure but not to constrict blood flow.
However, it has been discovered that when the above-described device is used, in the vast majority of cases the shaft diameter of the penis in the area of the thin-walled section of the device adjacent to the penis base does not enlarge as much as the more distal end of the penis shaft. This failure to enlarge as expected has permitted the thin-walled seal to fail, thereby equalizing the pressure inside and outside the device and losing the penile erection. However, the prior patented prosthesis still works when the stretched non-erect circumference and the erect circumference are the same, but has a limited utility because of the limited percentage of cases when this occurs.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing an improved sealing member in a flexible sleeve-like penile erection assistance device for insuring a positive seal without restricting venous blood flow.